Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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LITANY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

A series of invocations of the Savior, through his Precious Blood, approved in its present form by Pope John XXIII in 1960. Each of the twenty-four petitions begins with the term "Blood of Christ," to which the response is "Save us." The Blood of Christ represents wither Christ himself, as "Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God," or refers to the physical Blood of the Savior, as "Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross," or spans both meanings, as "Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory." The Litany of the Precious Blood is included among the official litanies of the Church in the new Manual of Indulgences (1968). There is a partial indulgence for each recitation.